Sarkozy says there are now two Europes - if you ask me, they are the one that is about to embark on the Titanic and the one that is staying behind on the dock in Southampton.
Basically both positions are a gamble and no-one can be certain what will happen; however, history is against the Euro working, and if there's one thing politics can teach you, it is that history has a habit of repeating itself.
I can't help feeling that European politics and economics is heavily infected by Groupthink with no-one (except the UK) being prepared to point out that the Emperor has no clothes.
3 comments:
Considering all the high end fashion houses in Paris and Milan... you'd think they'd want to put some clothes on.
Sx
I hope you're right Billy boy, but I fear the worse. We have not been able to pay our way for centuries. Because of our international plundering we were able to become the workshop of the world, or at least for a little while. With the break-up of the Empire and the loss of India in particular, we were only able to survive by selling off our industries and resources, and relying on the flood of cheap subsidised goods from China and India. Back in the fifties and sixties all the arguments were about the balance of payments - the problem continues - we simply don't talk about it any more.
We cannot rely on the City, they do not create wealth, they only create bigger numbers and cause distortions in the economy. We need to export and what do we do? We poke a stick in the eye of a our main trading partners. Really, that should be of no surprise, we have always expected others to prop us up and what else can you expect of the Johnny Foreigner - just typical of them not appreciate the British interests.
The result of our actions could well lead to a backlash, not only by politicians, but also by the man in the street or rue or plaza who takes one look at the made in Britain label and says stuff it. That, of course, is pretty much what we did to British manufacturing ourselves.
Alan: There's a whole world out there beyond the bankrupt and corrupt Eurozone, not that we're out of the free trade association anyway. I can't for the life of me think what Euroland would buy from us when they go down the plughole trying to prop up Greece, Portugal, et al.
At the end of the day, it's not politicians who decide on trade, but eh markets, and they are driven by profit and not spite. Witness the business that takes place between sworn enemies like Greece and Turkey (or Israel and Saudi), despite what the politicians say.
Forget not that we have another partner who we threw over in preference to Europe - the Commonwealth, and India is a massive market with ancient allegiance to us.
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